Waterboarding should be prosecuted as torture: U.N.

[G_j]

Date: Feb 9, 2008 4:57 PM
Waterboarding should be prosecuted as torture: U.N.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The controversial interrogation technique known as waterboarding and used by the United States qualifies as torture, the U.N. human rights chief said on Friday.

"I would have no problems with describing this practice as falling under the prohibition of torture," the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, told a news conference in Mexico City.

Arbour made her comment in response to a question about whether U.S. officials could be tried for the use of waterboarding that referred to CIA director Michael Hayden telling Congress on Tuesday his agency had used waterboarding on three detainees captured after the September 11 attacks.

Violators of the U.N. Convention against Torture should be prosecuted under the principle of 'universal jurisdiction' which allows countries to try accused war criminals from other nations, Arbour said.

"There are several precedents worldwide of states exercising their universal jurisdiction ... to enforce the torture convention and we can only hope that we will see more and more of these avenues of redress," Arbour said.

The U.S. Congress is considering banning the practice, in which prisoners are immobilized and water is poured into their breathing passages to simulate drowning.

Arbour referred to an arrest warrant issued in 1998 by a Spanish judge for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who died in 2006, on charges of torture, murder and kidnapping in the years that followed his 1973 coup.

Latin American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s were known to use waterboarding on political prisoners.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080208/ts_nm/usa_torture_un_dc

[LakeSamish706]

1. Wow, that could be very disturbing for the Bushites and there following.....

The only other thing that I meant to add is... The UN should grow some and undertake this as a full body... They are saying that Bush and cronies are breaking International Laws.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "D'oh." - Commander AWOL & republicon homelanders

"Um, ah, we didn't realize we were being a amoral pack of unspeakably cruel and deranged hate and hurt mongers, violating every agreed upon principle of decency. We wanted more, more, more oil money, and so WMD lies and wholesale torture seemed, um, like the, um, republicon THANG to, um, do.

"As the UN investigates they will find out that (smirk) all of these, um, mis-guided assumptiosn on our part, were merely innocent mistakes caused by Bill Clinton having got a hum job in the Oval Office. Smirk."

- Commander AWOL & amoral republicon homelander chickenhawk followers

[G_j]

3. Tyrants ALWAYS

feel the rules are different for them,


...Constitution just a god damned piece of paper..

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. Off to the greatest page with you! n/t

[SpiralHawk]

5. "Prosecute the torturers and traitors." - The American People

Thirsting after justice, and a restoration of basic honor -- qualities that America NEVER gets from the cabal of corrupt republicon cronies.

[RuleOfNah]

6. kick

:kick:

[countryjake]

7. kick